Writing
Notes on design, usability, and communication.
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Designing agentic AI people can trust
When AI stops suggesting and starts acting, the hard design problem becomes trust, not the interface. A human-in-the-loop model for high-stakes automation.
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Be uncomfortable with ambiguity
The urge to resolve ambiguity quickly is one of the most expensive instincts in product design. Learning to sit in it is a skill worth building.
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The definitive guide to dialogs, popups and overlays
Dialog, popup, overlay, modal, lightbox: five words used to mean almost anything. Here's how to tell them apart, and when to reach for each.
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Design debt vs. tech debt: which one will kill your product first?
You track technical debt. But another kind of debt is quietly building in your product, one that quietly sinks your growth while your system keeps running fine.
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Struggling to write simple help text? It might not be your fault
When help text won't come out simple no matter how hard you try, the problem often lies in the thing you're trying to describe rather than in your writing.
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Unpacking UX: a guide to speaking precisely in product development
"UX" has become a catch-all that muddies the water. Speaking more precisely about it leads to clearer communication and better outcomes.
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Top Tasks and Top Outcomes: the two lists to write before you start designing
Before you open the design tool, and definitely before anyone writes code, write two short lists. They'll save you from designing the wrong thing beautifully.
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How to update a complex legacy application
How do you make significant changes to an established product without frustrating the existing user base who've invested time learning its quirks?
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The expert user death spiral
How a product convinces itself that all its users are experts, and quietly designs its way into a corner it can't grow out of.
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"Er" and "Um": banish filled pauses to improve your communication
Filled pauses are commonplace in speech and subconsciously undermine your message. Removing them will elevate your communication considerably.
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Test driven design
Borrowing from test driven development: starting your design work with testing in mind is a powerful way to improve usability and user experience.
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A practical guide to writing product usability test questions
When writing task questions for usability tests, there are rules that should be followed to ensure effective testing and reliable data.